Instead of doing an in-depth prediction/analysis of each sport or the trials (because honestly, I didn’t watch all of them, my bad) I’m just going to throw out some random hopes, dreams and predictions for the games. And at the end, we’ll see how far off I actually was.

Hopes

-My boy Gus Kenworthy wins a gold medal.

–Nathan Chen not only lands all his quads, but actually invents the quint jump.

-Teenager Maame Biney has the race of her life and wins a bronze in the 500m short track speed skating.

-The lack of the NHL players combined with an “Olympic Athletes from Russia” team made up of mostly KHL players will create a bit of a 1980 vibe but allow some young fresh faces to start their careers in the spotlight on their way to a bronze medal.

-At least one ice skater will take full advantage of the new policy to skate to music with lyrics and wildcard Cardi B’s “Bodack Yellow”.

Dreams

-DalyNitro duo Steve Langton and John Daly both receive gold medals and celebrate by continuing DalyNitro (and maybe putting some PG-13 nudity in).

-The first ever mixed-doubles U.S.A. curling team of siblings Matt & Becca Hamilton from Wisconsin have a rocky start when Becca finds out that Matt did actually break her Ice Fishing Barbie back in second grade. But they recover and win a bronze.

-The Olympic Spirit of coming together with your fellow man for the goal of athletic peak performance starts to legitimately ease the tension between North Korea and the world (this one’s a legit dream, world peace y’all).

-Leather gloves that Sully from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman would wear will make a comeback after the opening ceremonies.

Predictions (you can hold me accountable on these)

-Mikaela Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn combine for 4 medals including 2 golds.

-Biathlete Lowell Bailey will finish in the top 5 getting the best finish ever by an American in the sport but not receive that elusive medal.

-Women’s Hockey gold medal match is the U.S. and Canada in a highly competitive showdown that comes down to a single goal and the U.S. takes home the gold.

-Germany and Norway battle it out for the most medals (in the void of Russia) with Norway eventually sitting atop the medal count.

-The Netherlands will continue to dominate in speed skating and while they won’t match their 24 medals from 2014, they will win at least 18.

-2016 opening ceremony star Pita Taufatofua, who is now a cross-country skier, will manage to somehow take his shirt off during the winter Olympics to keep his reputation strong.

-Men’s Double Luge will continue to be a baffling sport.

Let the failed predictions begin!

 

So a little gem I found last Olympics was Daly Nitro, a youtube series from U.S. bobsledder Steve Langton and Skeleton athlete John Daly. It followed the daily life of Olympic athletes when they are in peak training (and also had a lot of free time on their hands). There were some decent jokes and schitcks (and some pretty bad ones but they tried hard). And they are handsome and took their shirts off a decent amount so I might have subscribed to their channel. Youtube 4 years ago was just the start of me following U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton athletes on social media and I highly recommend doing the same.

John Daly spends a lot of time on his hair and is a big fan of stories and filters:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bea3MXRnsvx/?taken-by=johndalyusa

You get to see some of their training facilities and practice routines from guys like Evan Weinstock:

Or some insane workout videos from Steve Langton to see what a bobsled push athlete actually does on a regular basis (hint: it’s all weights and sprints):

Because, like in Cool Runnings, so many of these guys are college track athletes that specialized in sprints and jumps and clearly love to get swole and do wind sprints. Now they just do it on the ice and fulfill their Need for Speed. So if you need a little more Bobsled & Skeleton in your life (and guys in spandex) I suggest finding some of them and giving them a follow.

P.S. Olympic Bobsledder Kai Kun just liked three of my photos on Instagram. F* YEAH. (I don’t care if it was clickbait to follow him for sponsorship purposes, I’m still excited and bragging about this one the whole games).

I think one of the reasons I’ve always loved the Olympics are the iconic moments. Overcoming personal tragedy and obstacles, coming back from the brink of defeat, bringing athletes together from competing countries for an epic showdown of patriotism and peak athletic performance.

I haven’t been around for a lot of Olympic games but I’ve read some books and seen some movies and news clips and below are some of the best feel-good historic moments in winter Olympic history that I wish I experienced live:

Miracle on Ice

Arguably the best Olympic moment ever. There was a clash of world powers. There was a group of misfit college athletes divided by their undergrad rivalry that came together under the unique personality of a coach given an impossible task. There were the unbeatable “bad guys” of the Soviet national team that had advantages from a state-run program compared to many traditional amateur athletes of the time. And of course, there was an anti-climatic Gold Medal match after everyone had already declared the US the winners of the Olympics (Remember that part? The U.S. beat the Soviets in the semifinals. It wasn’t even a gold medal match. But it also shows how much of an underdog we were not to face the Soviets in the finals).

Eric Heiden wins 5 gold medals

Eric Heiden is the Michael Phelps/Michael Johnson of Speed Skating. He was able to win multiple races in one Olympics across distances that are typically not tackled by a single athlete. He absolutely dominated the 1980 Olympics with 5 gold medals from the 500 to 10,000. He single-handly won more golds at those Olympics than all countries except USSR and East Germany. He seemed like a humble and down to earth guy as well. He had already won 4 gold medals, supported his teammates by watching the Miracle on Ice and the next day got a world record by 6 seconds in his final race. He saw his countrymates do the impossible and he did the same. And just look at that goofy smile. Pretty sure he was an extra on Dazed and Confused and loved every moment of it.

Jamaican Bobsled Team

We’ve all seen the movie so I don’t need to go into details (will be writing a separate blog about Winter Olympic movies). But this is one of those fantastic stories about the world supporting the underdogs and a group of guys just trying to live out their Olympic dreams. Not every country has the infrastructure or resources to support all of their athletes.  You often hear Bob Costas during the opening ceremonies say how that moment will be the biggest crowd and most support many of the athletes will experience the entire games. Many competitors are eliminated in a qualifying round at 9:00am to a live audience of coaches and digital audience of NBC subscribers from the other side of the globe that couldn’t sleep. The Jamaican Bobsled team got some extra love and support from across the world in a unique showing of support for following your dreams, no matter how high the odds are stacked against you.

Dan Jansen’s Quest for Gold

Dan is a hometown speedskater from Wisconsin that rose to world prominence right before the 1988 Olympic games and was favorited to win the 500 and 1,000. His sister, whom he was very close with, passed away from Leukemia shortly before his first race and he left the games without any medals after falling in the prelims for both races. The 1992 games were no kinder, but because of the switch to separate Winter and Summer Olympics, he was given a last chance in the 1994 Lillehammer games. After a disappointing finish in the 500, he won a surprise gold in the 1,000 and finally received the gold medal he rightfully deserved. He did a victory lap with his daughter, who he named after his sister. (I’m not crying, you’re crying).

 

So here’s to hoping we see some more iconic moments in Pyeongchang this year!

Hi, my name is Andrew Royer and I’m an above average Olympic enthusiastic. I have traditionally scrapbooked the Olympics in old-school paper form but my love of GIFs made me want to upgrade to the interweb. I guest blogged the London Olympics and am now ready to dive-in on my own. So here we are.

If you are wondering why I’m so interested in the Olympics here are a few reasons:

• Professor Bloy circa Gettysburg College fall 2005. Thank you for creating a freshman seminar about The Olympics. You brought fellow Olympic enthusiasts together (you know who you are) and created an intellectually stimulating environment to discuss how the Olympics (ancient and modern) have reflected and influenced society, political events and the pursuit of athletic perfection. You also helped my creativity by creating the “draw shapes with a certain amount of sides” game on a regular basis to pass time.
• A.C. Moore for providing scrapbooking materials to enable my hobby.
• Some of my graduate school classmates for our trip to Lake Placid as “Spring Break” in 2011. We did the bobsled and skeleton, went to the top of the Ski Jump, saluted the flags atop the podium and explored the history of both Lake Placid Olympic games at the museum. It was a delightful trip and reinvigorated my love of the Olympics.
• My friends, family & coworkers for putting up with me constantly talking about and watching the Olympics for a large chunk of my life.
• And anyone that has ever played any sort of Olympic trivia, drinking game or other Olympic themed activity. Let’s keep that enthusiasm going all year, every year.

So buckle up and get ready for some Olympic fun. But don’t expect extensive coverage of every single event and Olympic happening. This is more going to be a blog of what interests me, lists of things, obscure Olympic facts and anything else that floats my boat.

Enjoy!